Wild Rivers Recreation Area, NM
Wild Rivers Recreation Area, in the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, NM. Popped in here for last but one stop on a tour last week. The clouds were chasing each other across the landscape, helping to create a wonderful depth to this vista, highlighting Ute Mountain in the background. Thanks for looking. G
Red Barn, Hole In The Roof Sunset
Red Barn, hole in the roof sunset, San Luis Valley, Colorado. I haven’t been to visit the red barn in a while, just north of Ute Mountain, there on the left. The wind can be brutal in this area with many bits of the barn scattered around the perimeter. There are more and more openings in this old building, perfectly positioned, for the sun to peer through before setting across the plateau. Thanks for looking. G
Barley Fields, Ute Mountain, Colorado
Barley fields, Ute Mountain, San Luis Valley, Colorado. Interestingly enough, “Sting” was playing in Taos on Labor Day. Too many people (8000) in a small park in town for me to want to attend. But I do like his song “Fields of Gold” and I much prefer the solitude in these fields of golden barley. I grew up surrounded by barley and wheat fields in Yorkshire, England, so this scene took me back a ways. Thanks for looking. G
Blooming Yucca, Rio Grande Gorge Rim
Blooming Yucca in Wild Rivers Recreation Area on the Rio Grande Gorge Rim. That Yucca plant from a couple of weeks ago is finally blooming. Those few cold nights and days slowed things down but now this part of the state is in a super bloom. Yuccas and Indian Paintbrush go so well together. I hope you can take the time to get outside. Or… join me on a tour, I’ll show you the beautiful locations in this corner of the state. Thanks for looking. G
Yucca Bloom, Rio Grande Gorge Rim
Yucca bloom, on the Rio Grande Gorge Rim at the Wild Rivers Recreation Area. The blooms are plentiful this year. The potential for the flowers to manifest is great, but… the Bighorn Sheep seem to enjoy yucca blooms very much. They bite the succulent heads off them and leave the rest. The evidence? Their droppings in the vicinity of a number of the plants. We’ll be back up there again tomorrow so I’ll get to do some more sleuthing. Perhaps we’ll see some flowers like these I posted from Monument Valley, Arizona As always thanks for looking. G
Sheep’s Crossing, Rio Grande, Ute Mountain
Sheep’s Crossing on the Rio Grande, is below me to the left, with Ute Mountain straight ahead, in the Wild Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. It’s beautiful out here on the rim of the gorge watching the early morning light reach down into the canyon. The snow melt in the high country is making for great runoff and the subsequent river rafting season. Join me on a photo tour/workshop. Thanks for looking. G
Rural Southern Colorado, Ute Mountain, Barn
Rural southern Colorado, Ute Mountain, barn. Gorgeous skies and the last snow fall across the valley. Hopefully not the last snow of the winter. This was less than a week ago. Today all the snow is gone and temps were in the mid 50’s F. The ice was gone on the lake. I was standing on the same ice a week ago. Today felt like the refreshing, first day of spring. Thanks for looking. G
Ute Mountain Tree, Costilla, New Mexico
Ute Mountain Tree, Costilla, New Mexico. The tree and numerous others, flank the old volcano on the Taos Volcanic Field. The direction of the prevailing wind is quite obvious. No wind today though at Ute Mountain, just cold. Thanks for looking. G
National Monument Day Out
National Monument day out. Days out on the road are memorable, some days more so than others. In the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument around Ute Mountain it can be sublimely memorable. The silence is palpable; the peace and tranquility can be immeasurable and the history is no further than I am able to imagine. Thanks for looking. G
Ute Mountain Clouds, Northern New Mexico
Ute Mountain Clouds, on the Taos Volcanic Field, northern New Mexico. Not much rain from the monsoons where we live, but the afternoon cloud buildup makes for some fine images. Thanks for looking. G
Ute Mountain From Wild Rivers Area
Ute Mountain from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Recreation Area of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument. An image made in April with a little dusting of snow on Ute Mountain. Thanks for looking. G
Field Geometry On The Plateau
Field geometry on the plateau in southern Colorado. I love it when I discover something that was one thing, in this case a gate, which now takes on another form. The beauty of it, there is a life’s worth of new work out there waiting to be found. Thanks for looking. G
Ute Mountain Corral
Ute Mountain Corral. Ute mountain, an extinct volcano stands like a beacon on the plateau. I like the way the white corral encircles the foreground as if guarding the mountains place in time. Thanks for looking. G
Morning At Ute Mountain
Morning at Ute Mountain in the Taos Volcanic Field (Plateau). On a photo tour last week we watched the sun rise over the Sangre de Cristos and light up the Rio Grande Gorge. As the sun rose, the shadows retreated across the plateau and revealed the dome of Ute Mountain rising some 3000 feet above the floor of the San Luis Valley in the Volcanic Field. The extinct volcano is an extraordinary feature of the northern New Mexico and southern Colorado landscape and features in a number of my photographs of the area. This day was no exception. It is one of my favorite places to visit. Thanks for looking. G
Winter Solstice, Rio Grande, Ute Mountain
Winter Solstice, at the Wild and Scenic Rio Grande and Ute Mountain. We took a drive north this morning to Ute Mountain. I wanted to make an image at the precise moment of the solstice 9:28 am MST. We did that and then proceeded to this favorite spot along the Rio Grande Gorge at the Wild and Scenic Rivers section of the Rio Grande. It was crisp and icy cold, and perfect to have all the senses alert, feeling the moment. Tonight it is snowing in San Cristobal. We’ll head out again in the morning for the first sunrise of winter. Thanks for looking. G
Ute Mountain Field, Colorado
Ute Mountain field and pivot irrigator. I’m told it’s a field of the lowly canola oil plant, rapeseed! Ok … it was still a bright, sight of a surprise to encounter in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. The horizon and hedgerows held back this surprise view until we made a left turn at a four way stop intersection, headed east toward the Sangre de Cristos mountains, to a point where the road rose slightly revealing, Ute Mountain, the pivot irrigator and the field. Surprises every where out there. Thanks for looking. G
